When we say puppet, it means that the country in question has to let Americans have their military near major population centers, open up their economy for American firms to buy, never oppose American foreign policy, don’t grow powerful enough to challenge the US, etc.
It doesn’t mean that a CIA agent is telling their PM exactly where to build a railway. They have the freedom to act within the boundaries set by the US. Thet get punished only when Japan steps out of the line like when they traded with the USSR.
We use the word puppet to derogate dogs of the empire but it’d be more accurate to say vassal or protectorate.
To continue answering your question, most core vassals such as Canada, Western Europe, Japan, etc. have better infrastructure and social security than the USA. There are many reasons for this phenomena, such as deindustrialization, but I will focus on one topic - deurbanization.
Less effort is required to establish infrastructure with a concentration of population. For an easy thought experiment, it is takes less materials and labor to build a water pipe to an apartment complex that house 10,000 people than to a housing complex that has an equivalent number of people in it. For the apartment complex, you can build one bus stop. For the housing complex, you have to build 50. America is the only country in the world that deurbanized largely due to racism. If you don’t want to live next to black, Jewish, and Irish people, you have to move away from the city. As a result, the cost of building infrastructure to serve 80% of the population is much greater than that of other advanced economies.
As an archipelago, Japan is/was an insular society with dense urban populations. It’s robust transportation system developed as a necessity. America is/was a sprawling continent with a consistent population shift. By the time Japan came under America’s thumb, it had other social structures in place that the US couldn’t dislodge.
Source: ass, mine
Korea has decent public transit though, the bones of which don’t predate the US.
If I were to get problematic (but not exactly incorrect IMO) about it, it’s the difference between a indigenous civilization like that which exists in Japan, Korea, the vast majority of the world, and even places like France, Germany, or… bleh… the UK… versus a culture dominated by settler-colonials (one could also say- barbarians, and true barbarians, not due to their technological development level, etc. but rather their mentality, the mentality of rootless, systematically divided, inherent imperialists whose culture was truly only built on theft, genocide, and slavery), who squat where they please and have little to no ties to the land, like the cultures dominating the US/Canada/Australia.
That’s a good explanation, but I think it’s fair to settle with Ozzam’s Razor and just say it was boring stuff.
The simplest explanation here is also just the toned-down (and accurate) version of this- the US has little to no culture, no civilization, outside of theft and genocide. Building up their country and people (most of whom are barely treated or seen as people to begin with) is not in their nature. Its great infrastructure and industrial developments in history were primarily in the name of westwards expansion, and war profiteering.
“Why build when you can steal” sums up the settler-mentality.
Politicians in the US lack pride and/or shame. Something should have been done after the first train derailment, someone should either felt a sense of shame or had enough pride in their country not to allow it to happen again.
They are not as averse to economic planning.
Plans for the Shinkansen predate WW2. Japan began developing its rail network in the 19th century and kept at it until today. Only now with the hollowing out of rural areas that some lines and stations are being reduced or decommissioned.
Japan’s economy is heavily dependent on USA (and China). We don’t really innovate anymore because of poor governance. Chemical industry is still growing though
It seems similar to Western Europe after WWII: the puppets who live nearest to the enemy are allowed a high standard of living to minimise the revolutionary spirit. Japanese people would be more likely to travel to China than USians. If Japan’s infrastructure was as bad as that in the US, ordinary Japanese people would be asking questions about capitalism/socialism.
They don’t spend nearly as much on their military as the USA does.
Because the USA isn’t paying for it so we don’t have to care about it.
why would the amerisharts give a shart if Japan builds trains? that’s why
the amerishart ruling class only wants things of value. Like resources, advanced tech, and kneecapping firms that are growing larger than their own. They got the latter two from Japan in spades during the 80s/90s
literally nobody in the ruling class cares if Japanese people have trains
It’s the same with Taiwan. They don’t really care what you do internally as long as you back their foreign policy and it doesn’t get in the way of it.
